In 1870s Transylvania, scientist Dr. Callistratus is put to death by villagers who wrongly believe he's a vampire. However, his horribly disfigured henchman, Carl is on hand to orchestrate a... Read allIn 1870s Transylvania, scientist Dr. Callistratus is put to death by villagers who wrongly believe he's a vampire. However, his horribly disfigured henchman, Carl is on hand to orchestrate a life-saving heart transplant.In 1870s Transylvania, scientist Dr. Callistratus is put to death by villagers who wrongly believe he's a vampire. However, his horribly disfigured henchman, Carl is on hand to orchestrate a life-saving heart transplant.
- Auron
- (as Bryan Coleman/Brian Coleman)
- Third Guard
- (as Bruce Whiteman)
- Professor Meinster
- (as Henry Vidon)
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Going back before well-formed notions of self, this was one film experience that changed me. Or rather I should say that the first two minutes changed me. It was my first movie alone, and my first non-cartoon movie. Sent on a mission to get bread, this ten year old sneaked into a matinée with the 15 cents left over. Sitting virtually alone I knew that what I was doing would be costly, and that I would be crossing a boundary with my life never fully retrieved.
This movie starts with some text that tells us about the curse of the vampire being the greatest evil ever visited on the earth and that we are entering Transylvania during what I assumed was its riskiest, spookiest time. The only way to kill a vampire, we are told, is by a stake through the heart. We are in an unkempt graveyard, Leni Riefenstahl's mountains in the background. If a church bell tolls it doesn't matter because I heard it. Tones are muted, the distance is far. We know it is the deepest part of night.
Townsfolk carry a wrapped corpse on a stretcher, careful about their delicate business in managing the evil undead. They tip the corpse into the shallow grave, the only real space, and the covering comes off the body's face. We see not the artificial snarling teeth that we expect, but a regular bank president sort of guy.
The camera now looks up from the grave at two hired executioners. One has a stake five feet long, the other a wooden mallet with a head as big as his, something I suppose actually existed. But it is huge and the wide lens makes it very much larger as we hear the crunch of the stake through flesh and see and hear the pounding just as if it were our heart. The camera then shows the stake, the palette effectively shifting from black and white to color.
A quick title and then we see a hunchback skulking behind a rock. His right eye (the wrong color) drooping two inches too low. Even a ten year old cinematic virgin could see at once that the action we have witnessed we have seen through his eye and that of the corpse. I was out of that air conditioned theater like my life depended on it. The bread did not survive.
Now, after more than 50 years I can sit through the entire film. The first sequence is still masterful I think. But the rest of the thing must have been created by another team. Boring. It has dogs, which together with the opening must have been all Sangster had in mind when he started.
Funny how you build a life.
Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.
The film (which I had been looking forward to for ages after viewing stills from it in critiques of the genre penned by film historian Alan Frank) is a lurid melodrama in vivid color and with, pardon the pun, full-blooded performances but the contrived end result somehow misses the mark. For starters, the script seems uncertain whether it wants to be a Dracula (given its title and 'bloodthirsty' villain) or a Frankenstein (in view of the villain's guinea-pig experimentations with moribund or dead subjects) clone; the fact that it is almost entirely set in a mental institution-cum-prison (that includes future "Carry On" member Bernard Bresslaw as a rowdy jailbird) brings forth comparisons with the superior final Hammer Frankenstein entry FRANKENSTEIN AND THE MONSTER FROM HELL (1974)!
Distinguished thespian Donald Wolfit is surprisingly but effectively cast in the lead, while Victor Maddern has a memorable look as his knife-wielding henchman (although, again, bearing hideous features that are never explained); future Hammer startlet Barbara Shelley and Vincent Ball (playing a character saddled with the amusing name of John Pierre!), then, are reasonably appealing as the romantic leads. The rousing score is equally notable as is a nasty climax featuring a pack of wild dogs prefiguring the one in Georges Franju's EYES WITHOUT A FACE (1959)! Incidentally, there is a very noticeable jump-cut during one of the lab scenes (suggesting that the film had censorship issues back in the day); incidentally, the Dark Sky DVD which cleverly pairs it with the aforementioned THE HELLFIRE CLUB amusingly allowed one to watch the show just as if it were playing in an old-fashioned Drive-In (complete with a host of schlocky trailers, ads and announcements)
The title BLOOD OF THE VAMPIRE is a misnomer as there is no vampire in the movie. In fact there is nothing supernatural at all. What you have is a Gothic melodrama with a heavy dose of Grand Guignol added in an attempt to emulate the Hammer blockbuster THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN which was made the year before (1957). Hammer's iconic DRACULA with Christopher Lee was made after this film but released before it so the vampire title may have been an attempt to cash in on the success of that movie. Many online reviewers slam the film for not having an actual vampire in it which is too bad as BOTV has a lot going for it once you get past that fact.
For starters the movie is wonderfully atmospheric with a dark color palette in the opening and a wonderfully gruesome sound effect as the "vampire" is being staked. Later on there are some truly impressive dungeon sets and an underground laboratory for nefarious experiments. Celebrated Shakespearean actor Donald Wolfit (made up to look like Bela Lugosi) is Dr Callistartus, a mad scientist who drains prisoners of their blood in order to keep himself alive. Australian actor Vincent Ball and Hammer regular Barbara Shelley are the romantic couple trying to escape from the diabolical doctor. Character actor Victor Maddern is very good as a Quasimodo like character who faithfully serves the doctor.
Sangster's script borrows elements from 19th century mainstays FRANKENSTEIN, THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME, and THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO. Images and situations from this film would later turn up in Mario Bava's BLACK SUNDAY and Georges Franju's EYES WITHOUT A FACE so it did have an impact on its initial release. For years it was thought lost before turning up on VHS in the late 1980s. This 2006 Dark Sky release uses an excellent color print and is coupled with the Baker/Berman team's last horror film, THE HELLFIRE CLUB which is more of a historical adventure. The DVD comes with retro drive-in commercials and recreates the old double feature presentations...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.
Did you know
- TriviaVictor Maddern got a headache from the extensive makeup he had to wear as the deformed hunchback Carl.
- GoofsKurt Urach's date of death is given as 1881 in the paper, but 1892 on his tombstone.
- Quotes
Callistratus: Since you're so interested in my work, there s no reason why you should not assist me. My experiments so far have been confined to male blood groups. I think it's time to extend my activity.
- Crazy creditsOpening credits prologue: Transylvania 1874
The most loathsome scourge ever to afflict this earth was that of the Vampire.
Nourishing itself on warm living blood, the only known method of ending a vampire's reign of terror was to drive a wooden stake through his heart.
- Alternate versionsThere is additional footage of Karl tormenting some chained female victims and also more of his death and some bloody lab shots in a version released on VHS in France in the 80s.
- ConnectionsFeatured in 100 Years of Horror: Scream Queens (1996)
- How long is Blood of the Vampire?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Der Dämon mit den blutigen Händen
- Filming locations
- Alliance Film Studios, St Margarets, Twickenham, Middlesex, England, UK(studio: made at Alliance Film Studios Twickenham)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime
- 1h 27m(87 min)
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1